Kugelmugel

Micronation in Vienna, Austria

  • Edwin Lipsburger (1976)
  • Nikolaus Lipsburger (2015)
  • Linda Treiber (2022)
Dates claimed19 December 1976–present

Kugelmugel, officially the Republic of Kugelmugel (German: Republik Kugelmugel), is an art object located in Vienna, Austria. It came about as the result of the artist Edwin Lipsburger constructing the spherical object without permissions from the city of Vienna. After the dispute between the artist and Viennese authorities, the artist declared it a micronation, and it was eventually granted asylum by the then-mayor Helmut Zilk.

The 'Republic' is currently administered by Linda Treiber.

History

In June 1982, the house was installed in Prater park, near the Hauptallee, and surrounded by eight-foot-tall barbed-wire fences. The house occupies the only address within the proclaimed Republic: "2., Antifaschismusplatz" ("2nd district of Vienna; Anti-Fascism Square"), and since been officially adopted by the city of Vienna by then-mayor Helmut Zilk who granted the object "asylum".[1].

Lipburger died in January 2015, but the Republic retains an official population of more than 650 non-resident citizens. Following Lipburger's passing, his son Nikolaus Lipsburger took over the management of the nation. Subsequently in 2022, Nikolaus Lipsburger hired Linda Treiber as new president of the nation to manage Kugelmugel.[2]

Closed for sometime during the COVID-19 pandemic, the "republic" reopened its borders to to visitors on the 1st of June 2024. Visitors get issued a "visa permit" with stamp and signature for a fee to visit the art nation.[3]

In German, the word "Kugel" means "ball" or "sphere"; "Mugel" is an Austrian German expression for a bump or a hill on a field, from which mogul skiing is also derived.

  • The Republic of Kugelmugel
    The Republic of Kugelmugel
  • The interior of the spherical house
    The interior of the spherical house

References

  1. ^ "Was macht ein Ministaat mitten im Prater?". Die Presse (in German). 9 August 2014.
  2. ^ "Draßmarkterin als Managerin des "Kugelmugel" im Prater" (in German).
  3. ^ "Kugelmugel: Die runde Republik öffnet ihre Grenzen". Die Presse (in German). 5 June 2024.

Further reading

  • Ryan, John; Dunford, George; Sellars, Simon (2006). Micronations: The Lonely Planet Guide to Home-Made Nations. Footscray, Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet. pp. 82–85. ISBN 1-74104-730-7.
  • Media related to Kugelmugel at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived March 27, 2022) (in German)
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48°12′56″N 16°23′46″E / 48.2155°N 16.3961°E / 48.2155; 16.3961


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